Athletic footwear particularly basketball shoes

ABSTRACT

ATHLETIC FOOTWEAR AND MORE PARTICULARLY BASKETBALL SHOES IN WHICH A RUBBER OR PLASTIC OUT SOLE IS SUITABLY SECURED TO A CANVAS UPPER AND THE QUARTERS OF THE UPPER ARE PROVIDED WITH CUSHIONED PADDING FOR EFFECTIVELY PROTECTING THE ANKLE AREA OF THE WEARER. A PRE-MOLDED FOOTBED IN-   SOLE HAVING AN INSTEP GORE IS INSERTED AFTER THE ASSEMBLY OF THE UPPER AND OUTSOLE.

1971 'r. A. EDMONDS 3,555,706

ATHLETIC FOOTWEAR PARTICULARLY BASKETBALL SHOES Filed Dec. 5, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENTOR 77/044 45 4 04401W$ ATTORNEYS 19, 1971 T. A. EDMONDS 3,555,70

ATHLETIC FOOTWEAR PARTICULARLY BASKETBALL SHOES Filed Dec. 5, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Bzx I: is

INVENTOR 7/705 .4; am/05 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,555,706 ATHLETIC FOOTWEAR PARTICULARLY v BASKETBALL SHOES Thomas A. Edmonds, Abingdon, Md., assignor to Bata Shoe Company, Inc., Belcarflp, Md. Filed Dec. 3, 1968, Ser. No. 780,730

Int. Cl. A43b 00/00; A61f /00 US. Cl. 36-2.5 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Athletic footwear and more particularly basketball shoes in which a rubber or plastic out sole is suitably secured to a canvas upper and the quarters of the upper are provided with cushioned padding for effectively protecting the ankle area of the wearer. A pre-molded footbed insole having an instep gore is inserted after the assembly of the upper and outsole.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the athletic footwear of the type having a canvas upper and a rubber or plastic outsole securely attached thereto and while the inventive concept is primarily directed to basketball shoes, it is of course to be understood that the invention is of greater application. 7 j I It will be appreciated that basketball is a very fast game in which considerable physical contact is involved and the shoes are subjected to severe wear. If the shoes and particularly the uppers thereof are not sturdily constructed, the players may suffer injury to their feet and particularly in the area of the ankles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide a basketball shoe in which the quarters are provided with means for protecting the ankle area.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a basketball shoe in which the quarters have associated therewith cushion padding of such dimensions as to effectively protect the ankle area as well as the instep area.

Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a basketball shoe in which the cushion padding is loosely located between the inside and the outside of the quarters and the reinforcement panel covers the outside of that area of the quarters provided with the cushion padding.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a basketball shoe in which the cushion padding and the quarters are laminated and a reinforcement panel covers the outside of the laminated structure.

And yet another object of the invention is to provide a basketball shoe of the type under consideration in which there is inserted following the assembling of the upper and outsole a premolded footbed insole having an instep gore.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description and annexed drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a basketball shoe embodying the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the shoe illustrated in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of the premolded insole,

FIG. 4 is a view in perspective of a further embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a basketball show disclosed in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the basketball shoe comprises an upper 1, an outsole 2 and an insole 3. The upper 1 is preferably of canvas and the outsole of rubber or a suitable plastic material of the type well known in the shoe industry. The outsole may be secure to the upper 1 in any convenient and well known manner. The insole 3 is of a premolded footbed type and is provided with an elastic gore 3a for the instep area of the foot.

The upper 1 includes a vamp and quarters 4, a heel cap 5 and side reinforcements 6. A conventional type tongue 7 and innerlining 8 are also present.

As herein above mentioned, the present invention provides a protective means denoted generally 9 for the ankle area of the upper. More specifically, the protective means 9 includes a cushion pad 10 loosely positioned between the lining 8 and the quarters 4 and the pad is of the configuration clearly illustrated in FIG. 1. The padding effectively covers the ankle area as well as the instep area of the foot. A reinforcement panel 11 overlies the quarters and is of the same configuration as the cushion pad. The panel 11 is secured to the quarters by stitching 12. The reinforcement panels, the quarters and the lining are provided with eyelets 13 for receiving a lace 14. i

From the above description it is believed readily apparent that by virtue of the cushion pad the ankle area and instep areas are effectively protected and this area of the shoe is of very sturdy construction. The arrangement requires a minimum of modification of the shoe and the cost of manufacture is not prohibitive.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 corresponding components bear the same reference numerals with the exception they are primed. In this embodiment, the cushion pad 10' is not loosely positioned between the lining and the quarters as in the case of FIG. 1 but rather the cushion pad 10 and quarters 4' are laminated or combined. The reinforcement panel '11 is directly in facial contact with the cushion pad and is secured to the upper by the stitching 12. Substantially the same results are realized by this particular construction.

It should further be mentioned that it is not essential that the premolded insole 3 illustrated in FIG. 3 be employed since other types such as cushion insoles may be substituted therefore.

This invention is not to be confined to any strict conformity to the showing in the drawings but changes or modifications may be made therein so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

'1. An athletic shoe comprising an upper, a lining for the upper, an outsole of resilient material secured to the upper, an insole, and protective means for the upper overlying the ankle and instep areas thereof, said protective means comprising a pad of cushioning material loosely located between the lining and the quarters of the upper, and reinforcement means securing the pad to the upper.

2. An athletic shoe comprising an upper, an outsole of resilient material secured to the upper, an insole, and protective means for the upper covering the ankle and instep areas thereof, said protective means comprising a cushion pad laminated to and in continuous facial engagement with the quarters of the upper and reinforcement means in engagement with the cushion pad and secured to the upper.

3. An athletic shoe comprising an upper, an outsole of resilient material secured to the upper, an insole provided with a gore for the instep area thereof, and protective means for the upper covering the ankle and instep areas thereof, said protective means comprising a cushion pad and reinforcement means securing the pad to References Cited the upper' UNITED STATES PATENTS 4. An athletic shoe compnsmgan upper, an outsole of resilient material, an insole, and protecting means for 1,095,213 5/1914 Johnson 3671 the upper, said protective means comprising a pad of 5 1,638,339 8/1927 Johnson 36-71 cushioning material of such dimensions as to cover only 3091871 6/1963, l' r 3671X the ankle and instep areas of the upper in continuous 3,410,004 /1968 -Finn- 36-71X facial engagement with the upper, and a reinforcement Y member overlying and being of substantially the same PATRICK QQ 9m configuration as the pad secured along its periphery only 10 U S XR to the quarters of the upper for maintaining the pad in 36 71 position. 

